Westview Volleyballers win Sectional

After dispatching Bremen in the semifinals, the Lady Warriors rolled past the host Lady Cougars by a count of 25-14, 25-16, 25-11 in the finals. The title earned coach Heidi Brohm’s Lady Warriors a home match in the 2A regional round this Tuesday night (7 p.m.) against Woodlan.

“From the beginning of the season, this team has had its eye on winning the sectional and it’s nice to see them accomplish it,” said Brohm, whose club will take a 25-9 record into regional play. “Our seniors (Rachel Johns and Breann Bushong) have done a great job of leading what is still a very young team and performing the roles we asked them to. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Central Noble put up a good fight through the early portions of the first two games, something Brohm expected. “They did a good job of reading where the hits were going to go and dug up some hard shots,” said the Westview skipper of the Lady Cougars.

A kill by Haley Duncan pulled the hosts within one (15-14) of Westview in the opening set. The Lady Warriors then tallied the final 10 points to win the game, the last marker coming on a spike by sophomore Grace Hales.

The second game was knotted at 11-all when Westview went on a 10-2 run to forge a 21-13 edge. Three kills by Johns helped the Lady Warriors close out the set and take a 2-0 lead.

Westview dominated the third game, scoring the initial six points on kills by Bushong and sophomore Miranda Kresse, a block by Bushong and a service ace by sophomore Alexis Hostetler. Hales drove the final nail in the Central Noble coffin by hammering a spike for the clinching point.

“It’s a big advantage for us playing at home,” said Brohm of her Lady Warriors’ regional battle with Woodlan, which knocked off Westview, 26-24, 25-23 in the Concord Invitational earlier this season. “The support we’ve gotten from our fans has been tremendous and we expect the same Tuesday.”

The Lady Warriors rallied from a 19-25 first-game loss to Bremen in the semifinals to take the final three, 25-23, 25-11, 25-16.

Leading servers were Hales with three aces and Hostetler with two. Gingerich racked up 48 assists, Johns 17 digs and Kresse 10 digs. Bushong topped the block chart with four, followed by Gingerich, Kresse and McCoy with two each.

Bremen finished 22-13.

Westview began its title trek last Thursday night by clipping Prairie Heights, 25-17, 25-18, 25-18. It was the third victory for the Lady Warriors over their county rivals this season.

Hales led the attack with 14 kills. Bushong chipped in 10 kills and two aces, Gingerich netted 29 assists and two aces.